Our house
My friend's bachelor and bachelorette parties in New Orleans...I had that dress designed/made in India with my dad.
Patrick the last day of his Plebe year at Herndon

At my friend's wedding in Natitoches, Louisiana
Our college "family picture" at my friend Ben's wedding.
Me and Johnny Costello, MD. my DC roommate...and surgeon...and brother...and amigo.

“One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it’s left behind.” – Charles Dickens

So, hello! I know the last time i wrote was almost a year ago...well, 10 months ago to be exact (I know this because I definitely remember each month in korea and i was still there this time last year...) But enough with that. I saw this quote today and it so eloquently captured what i so often tell people when asked about my time in korea. I remember last year when I was India my dad told me and my friend sarah that one day, something random will happen (a smell, sound, song, etc.) and you will look back on korea very fondly. At the time I knew he was probably right because of course wisdom comes with age and also, life isn't so different regardless of where you are. So, even though i believed him I thought "What could possibly remind me of Korea and make me smile...of course this excludes all the Korean pop music, typical stories of Korea my friends who are still there tell etc.) But last fall...well, probably late fall/early winter I was busy writing a paper in between work and class and I quickly ran to the ING Cafe by my old apartment. I ordered my drink, sat down, and opened my laptop. The next thing I knew I was taken back to Korea and to some of the best conversations and times of my life with my friend Dthai (daniel) and Sarah. So what did this? What brought me back to eastern asia as I was sitting in the middle of downt0wn chicago? A CAPPUCCINO. I always would meet my friends after work and we would usually go to a coffee shop (starbucks or coffee bean, the western coffee chains in asia). And without fail, I would order a cappuccino...probably because I was so sick of the "coffee" they always had at work aka sugar and instant coffee mix combined ughhh. Anyways, this cappuccino was obviously an amazing moment for me (que the british melodrama here haha)...but seriously, it's really hard to live in a world that is SO different, all by yourself as a foreign government employee, with the closest family a day plane ride away. and we did it. and not only did my friends and I do this but i have nothing to say about my time in korea other than it was the most beautiful, challenging, and random decision i have ever made. and im lucky and honored that somehow i ended up in the land of kimchi and soju for that year.

It wasn't Korea that brought about such great things for us. It was the environment of Korea. Now, I am not devaluing those who have had experiences studying/traveling abroad, but I will say this was very different. We worked. A lot. Dealt with foreign taxes, reporting foreign taxes, pension, medical expenses etc on US tax forms (ughhh so difficult/annoying), our coworkers were very hard on us, we lived alone, found our own outlets, spent hours on the subway just to meet a friend for coffee or dinner...and dealt with all the growing pains of the year after college...but in different place with no friends, family, or even simple luxuries such as the news, movies, or even bread. But, it was this that catapulted one year of growth into years of experience and amazing friendships. Since moving from Korea I have met up with friends from Korea over five times, in five different cities. And actually, I will see Sarah next week in London...and then again in July. I am lucky to have these awesome people who understand everything without having to even remember anything.

So, I would like to say this blog post was a random post amidst summer free time. It is not. I am actually procrastinating writing a paper...and then when I am done with that one, another one etc. etc. etc. I leave for a course in Italy next week. And then when I come back I will have a thesis prospectus stuff ..and then defend my thesis in October...and be don!!! I know, blah blah blah, Maureen...everyone is busy...this was just a cathartic break from the world of educational policy, so thanks for humoring me with your time. But don't worry mom, I'm on it and I will get it all done...I hope :)

But back to korea, as Charles Dickens noted, I have "forgiven" Korea for all the hard times...whether it was forgive or forget or maybe stuff wasn't that big of a deal, I'm not sure. But more importantly, i am so thankful. Not only did I "grow up" and learn to chill out for a second to admire the simplicity and commonality of life, any life, I also found the career i am now pursuing. I have great friends, great memories (which continue), and great support and love from all of you...and a serious addiction to YouTube and makeup thanks to korea! Actually though, that paid off last night. I used to always watch this youtube artist, Kina Grannis, last year and she is touring right now...last night she was in DC and sent me free tickets to her show so Johnny and I went and it was super fun.

I will be going to London, Venice, Verona, Florence, Chianti, Rome, Capri, Sorrento, back to London and maybe Yorkshire or Edinburgh beginning next week. But I will definitely come back and post some cool pictures etc for you.

Ok MUST get back to this paper...Thanks again for all your support. Have a great summer season filled with fun festivals, weddings, and pretty weather.

PS, thanks Mrs. C for the pictures and card!!! Glad to hear all the girls are doing well, and congrats to Molly as she starts grad school at UW, amazing!

And I hope everyone isn't too annoyed with the vuvuzelas while watching the worldcup...I, however, LOVE THEM and would be pretty pumped to own one....

xoxoxo
Maureen

The end.

Wow! I seriously can't believe I'm writing this post...my year in Korea is almost over and that's absolutely insane! To be honest, this ending isn't sad, happy, strange, or bittersweet. It's just simply time to go...and I'm ready. When I came to Korea I honestly didn't put that much thought into it. It wasn't until mid July that I even thought about the idea and applied AND I didn't take the idea seriously until the first weekend in August. I remember that weekend I went to go visit Dan LeClaire down in Florida because he was performing there. And I was talking to all his castmates and we were talking about jobs, life, money, etc. and I thought, uhhhh, I have to move out of my brother's house in 2 weeks and I don't have a firm plan. So that kicked me into gear. I really didn't care about moving to Korea, it's just that Katie was there and it seemed like a good way to dive into the real world without going through the usual transition a college kid does. I don't know why I was so scared of that but the economy, job search, apt hunting, city location, etc. was really stressing me out so I took a quick but GIANT leap of faith. A week later I had my interview (as I was watching the Olympics on TV haha), got my visa the following week, and by the time I had caught my breath I was on the airplane en route to Korea and I thought, "Oh no! Maureen, what did you do?" Seriously, that plane ride was not very fun, I definitely thought I could have possibly made a mistake but I was also comforted by the knowledge that life just usually works out. And it did. So, that is the honest reason I came to Korea. My intentions for going were a mixture of adventure, immaturity, a need for a solid job opportunity, and my friend was there.

So, a year later, knowing everything I know now, I'm honestly not sure I would do it again. But isn't it great that we don't have a fast forward button in life, because then we're never tempted to look ahead and think, oh no, that's not for me. With that said, professionally I have grown so much in Seoul. Working at Jamsil Middle School was a great, slow transition into the classroom but teaching AP US History at Seoul Global High School was the opportunity of a LIFETIME and that would have never been made available to me had I not come to Seoul. Teaching at a very well respected international school was the best thing to happen to me in Korea by far and I'm completely flattered and insanely grateful that the international director had enough faith to hire me. And my students were just simply AMAZING...one girl actually wrote me the most sincere and hysterical three page letter on my last day. However, I will NOT miss my 14 hour work days with a total of three hours commuting (completely falling asleep on subway trains has become quite normal).

As far as the rest of my life in Seoul, I won't miss much about the city itself (beside radish kimchi and the FANTASTIC eye makeup) but my friends I will miss oh so much. The teaching community in Seoul is a little different but my three really good, true friends in Seoul I am so thankful for. They are great. I will miss them so much. See, that's the hard part. We are not people studying abroad. We are people of all ages from many countries living and working abroad. Therefore, we are all at VERY different places in our lives, and I know that not all of these relationships will last, even the ones that I think will might fizzle too. But that's OK. Because for this year these people (no matter how different, frustrating, loving, etc.) were my outlet and my life. NOBODY had family in this country so our entire lives outside the workday were each other....and that can sometimes be great...and a little too much as well. But like I said, the three most important friends I met here will just be blessings in my life forever. Just like all of you reading this :)

So, to sum up my year. I spent probably 6 months out of the year in transit (the city is just SO BIG), laughed, cried, got mad about cultural differences, laughed about cultural differences, skyped everyone I know like all the time, had some amazing trips, got to spend some great quality time with my dad, loved just chatting away with my mom, gchatting with my friends during the time in the day when the time difference was the best, felt trapped in my window-less tiny apartment, loved how dark my window-less apt was when I wanted to sleep in, loved korean food, hated korean food, got stared and glared at more times than I want to know, and heard the same 3 popular korean pop songs for the ENTIRE year in every subway station ughhhh I have no idea why there is no such thing as NEW music here. oh, and I inhaled way too much smog...korea gave me asthma...seriously haha

Obviously living in a foreign country with a COMPLETELY different culture is not easy. There were good times and bad times. And I will always remember both. Because if I don't remember the essence of my time here, I will forget why I grew so much. And I never want to forget those tiny details that made up this special year in my life. But whenever someone asks me what I remember most about Seoul I will simply say two things: laughing...and ALWAYS just being so insanely tired :)

Thanks for reading both this post and all my posts. Your support has been so vital and I appreciate the time it takes for each one of you to read my posts and look through all my pictures. And thank you for the little skype messages, emails, packages, phone calls, and letters. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life. Thank you.

Anddddddddd, as usual, it is late and I am tired. This makes me laugh. See, I'm laughing and I'm tired. That's Seoul...in a nutshell.

Goodnight...& goodbye from South Korea.

Annyong Keseyo (goodbye in Korean)

xoxox

Reen

My favorite Sarssss aka Sarah. My fave chingu (friend in Korean)




We had a goodbye party and everyone watched a video I made of seoul.


We had to make sure and pose like the Korean school girls one last time.



One of my classes at Jamsil Middle School...cute 7th graders.

CRAZY 9th graders!!!!

MUDFEST


MY DAD CAME TO VISIT....and had to eat pasta on my bed cause my apt is so tiny. Thanks for coming daddy, you are the best.


Dad out with the girls :)

My dad got to come watch me teach at Seoul Global. So it was a good time for some photos haha

4th of July on Mount Fuji

after we finished the climb...we found ice cream!!



Oh Mount Fuji....what can I say...it was A GREAT trip but was definitely different than i expected. It was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been and we met the coolest people, ate the best food, saw a beautiful sunrise (and blizzard). Like I said it was great, but different than I expected. And we also had one of those really bad travel stories that was pretty scary but defintiely taught me a lesson. So, I won't talk about the story since we are all safe etc but it was def some good lessons learned. Katie actually wrote a great email to her friend back home about our adventure and its very detailed...soooo, since I'm lazy i'm just copying and pasting it here for you to read...its defintiely worth the read. It was a pretty hysterical trip....definitely my favorite thing of the whole year....enjoy! Fyi, I went with Katie and her friend Tara so thats who the other girl in the pics is...

So, Maureen and I decided that the one thing we really want to do this summer is climb Mount Fuji. We found out that the climbing season officially starts July 1, so we decided to go this past weekend. Thinking this would be a good idea to go at the beginning of the season. Wrong. There were not as many people there as in the middle of the season, but it is because the people who go at the beginning are borderline insane. Two major things we didn't consider. The temperature at the top would be below freezing and the path to descend down would not be open until July 17. Tara and Maureen had only thought as far ahead as the actual climb and brought essentials for that. Upon arriving in Japan, they both realized that their personal hygiene would also be taking a vacation. Tara brought no underwear except the pair she had on, no toothbrush, deodorant, or toothpaste. However, Tara did bring 2 hats, 2 pairs of gloves, and hand and foot warmers (which is much more than I can say for myself.) Maureen had no toothbrush or toothpaste, and I was the best off having only not brought toothpaste.

We arrived in Tokyo and had to go straight to Fuji. The thing to do is start in the evening and climb all night to be at the summit for sunrise and that's what we set out to do. Everything was going way too smoothly, with the exception of the lack of the personal hygiene we would be subject to, we got on the bus and headed toward the most popular route starting at the Kawaguchiko Station. We got to the Kawaguchiko and knew we would have to take a shuttle to the 5th Station where everyone starts the climb from. We walked up to the ticket counter to buy tickets and pointed to the time we wanted and they lady just responded, "No." The conversation pretty much proceeded as follows. Us: "5th station bus?" Ticket lady: "No." Us: "Hmm 5th station train?" Ticket lady: "No." Us: "5th station bus?" Ticket lady: "No." This went on for another few minutes interspersed with us staring at the lady no knowing what to do. Luckily, another guy and girl climbing the mountain came up and had the same problem so we just took a taxi together to the 5th station...for the small price of $124. Lesson learned. Check the bus schedule for that last bus time the first week of the climbing season.

We got to the 5th station and it was considerably colder. Tara, Maureen, I got of the taxi in shorts and t shirts to find everyone else in full on winter gear staring at us like we were insane. We did have warm clothes to change into, but I really wish someone would have just come out and told me it would be like the dead of winter at the top of the mountain. Everyone just said it was pretty cold up there. We changed, bought sticks, put on our head lamps, and started.

We started at the 5th station at around 8:30. There are 9 stations and then about 300 meters to the summit. Mount Fuji, being a volcano and all, is covered in rocks and volcanic ash. This may possibly the hardest thing to climb up and definitely the hardest to climb down (more to come on that). For every step you take you slide backwards about a half of a step. A lot of the trail up was also scaling. Also the conditions are hurricane force winds that feel like they are blasting straight from the Arctic. Thank goodness we had the sticks to help us. I must say though the ascent was not that bad. We took it slow and made pretty good time. All the while in my head I was singing "Arigato, Mr. Roboto." We stopped at the 9th station for about an hour to recoup before going to the summit. After 7 hours of climbing, we got to the summit right before sunrise and it was by far the coldest I've ever felt. It was the best feeling reaching the top though. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see more than 2 seconds of the sunrise so that was unfortunate. This began a series of unfortunate events.

We decided we were too cold to say at the top any longer. It was around 4:30 am when we started to descend. The path to get down was only one person wide and there were still people coming up so we reached a human grid lock. We were basically trapped at the top of the mountain freezing. The path to descend is a nice bulldozed trail off to the side of the ascending trail. Unfortunately, it doesn't open until July 17. It wasn't until about an hour into the descent I realized we would in fact be taking the same trail down as we did up. It was kind of ironic because on the way up when I scaling rocks, I thought to myself this would really not be fun to have to go down. Instant karma. The sun came out and it was really beautiful so we stopped, took some pictures, and continued on.

The next 5 hours were like my own personalized brand of hell. Volcanic ash is even less fun to climb down. Our feet kept slipping out from under us and scaling going down is terrifying. At one point, we had been scaling down rocks for 3 hours and couldn't see an end in sight when Maureen and I both almost started to cry. Between slipping on ash, having to jump down rocks, being deliriously tired, the wind, and having shaky legs I don't know how I got off the mountain without needing facial reconstructive surgery or new front teeth. I can only thank the walking stick.

At 9:30 am, 13 hours later, we finally made it back to the 5th station. My legs have never hurt so much in my entire life.


So, I hope that give you guys a good idea of the trip hahaha it was just one of those ridiculous weekends but amazing, amazing memories. Sorry I made you read someone else's description but since I'm writing this post almost a month later I knew the details wouldn't be that easy to extract from my memory so I think this was def a better option. But as you can see, everything was worth it! Oh and it was really cool cause on the way down I saw some guys wearing Naval Academy hats so I asked, "did you go to the naval academy" The guy responded with "Yes ma'am, I do." hahah it made me laugh, and I told him that my brother had just had I-day (three days prior to this) and he asked about what company he was in etc. It was nice to make that connection and little shoutout to patrick on Mt. Fuji!!!!

Ok, thanks for reading this very long post.

xoxoxo
Reen


BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE

VERY COLD!
FINALLY AT THE TOP!!! SOOOO SOOOO COLD...it was definitely snowing...a lot!
The line of headlamps coming up the mountain.

Resting in the "tea time" room at 11,000 ft.
4th of July on Mt. Fuji!!!







The mountain from the distance.
Right before the climb.